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German police order mall to stay closed after attack threat

German police order mall to stay closed after attack threat

Warren Dawson | March 12, 2017, 0:45

German police order mall to stay closed after attack threat

Terror police told the popular mall, Limbecker Platz, in Essen - a 25 minute drive from Dusseldorf - to not open.

Police have shut down a shopping centre in Germany after receiving intelligence over a potential terrorist attack, according to German news agencies, cited by BNR.

A shopping centre in Germany has been ordered to stay closed today due to "concrete indications about a possible attack".

Last July, a German-Iranian who police say was obsessed with mass murderers including a Norwegian right-wing fanatic shot dead nine people at a Munich shopping mall before turning the gun on himself.

The Associated Press reported that around a hundred police officers - many armed with machine pistols and bullet-proof vests - positioned themselves around the shopping centre and adjacent auto park to prevent anyone from entering.

But, Bild reports that secret service sources have said the threats concerned "several suicide bombers".

The mall is expected to remain closed all day.

As the decision was taken police searched the building and evacuated a few members of staff.

Germany remains on edge following a series of attacks over the past year, including when a failed Tunisian asylum seeker drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in December, killing 12 people.

Early reports have suggested the attacker may have been suffering from mental health problems.